


Sweets

by irisnyx18



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, one shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-12 00:44:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19218148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irisnyx18/pseuds/irisnyx18
Summary: Collection of Sweet Pea one shots (so far, all sweet pea x reader).





	1. Teach Me

**Author's Note:**

> First one is the first one I've ever written. Tutor!Sweet Pea, one of my favorite Sweet Peas.

“I don’t believe in tutors.” You say, crossing your arms over your chest. Mr. Weatherbee sighed heavily.

“Regardless of what you believe in, Miss. Y/N, your grades speak for themselves. You need a tutor if you want to graduate at the end of the year.”

“Wait, you’re not letting me graduate?” You sit up in your seat, jaw tight. Graduating was the only way your mother was allowing you to go back to California, live with your dad, and get out of this god forsaken town. It had only been 2 years since you’d moved here, but already you were tired of the simplicity of it all.  

Before moving here, you didn’t even know towns like this existed. Towns where everyone knew each other, where you’d go to the little diner and have a milkshake with your high school sweet heart. It was even typically divided into two rivaling parts, the Northside and the Southside. It was almost sickening, in one of those cringey, cliché ways.  

The Southside was interesting though. More specifically the Serpents, a local biker gang, that didn’t seem to actually do anything bad, but everyone disliked them just the same. You couldn’t imagine what it had been like when Southside high shut down and they all had to transfer to Riverdale. That must have been a riot.  

“It’s not whether I let you graduate, Y/N. It whether you let yourself.” Weatherbee said, intertwining his hands, trying to look oh so professional.  

You blinked. “What?”

“You need a tutor, Y/N, or you won’t graduate. It’s as simple as that.”

“Fine.” You huffed, slumping back down in your seat. “Can I choose myself?”

“Your tutor has already been chosen. The top of the senior class.” Weatherbee pushed the intercom button on his phone, telling whoever was on the other line to send the tutor in.

You pick at your finger nails, expecting Betty Cooper or Kevin Keller to walk in at any moment. In fact, you were expecting anyone other than the person who did walk in.

“Ah,” Weatherbee said when the door opened. “Mr-”

“Sweet Pea. It’s just Sweet Pea.”

You whipped your head toward the door to see the towering southside serpent standing in the doorway. Your eyes widened as you tilt your head to take him all in. He stood there, arms crossed over his chest, a dissatisfied look gracing his face as he glared at Weatherbee.

“Sweet Pea, this is Y/N. You’ll be tutoring her.”

*

Sweet Pea knew his stuff, you’ll give him that. He made most everything easy to understand and was surprisingly really patient, explaining things over and over without a thought when you couldn’t seem to grasp the concept. 

Which happened a lot when he worked on Physiology with you. 

“Wait, so these substances aren’t permeable and these are?” You ask, using your pencil to point at two different lists of substances. 

“You have it backwards. Those are permeable and those aren’t.” Sweet Pea said, shifting your pencil to the right one. 

“That makes no sense.” You groan, raking your fingers through your hair. You’d been at this for almost an hour and nothing seemed to make sense. 

“It will, don’t worry.” Sweet Pea reassured you. “Look at all the data you collected. See how…”

His voiced faded away as you stare at him, still trying to wrap your mind around the fact that this was Sweet Pea. A giant, intimidating southside serpent, with a neck tattoo, was tutoring you. Guess it just goes to show that you really can’t judge a book by it’s cover. 

Your eyes drift from his face, down his neck where, unfortunately, his serpent tattoo was covered up by a turtleneck. It was such an odd place to have a tattoo, but it worked for Sweet Pea. Really well. 

Stupid Weatherbee and his idiotic rules about serpent insignia. You’d only ever gotten glimpses of it, here and there when you saw him at parties, hanging in the corner with Toni and Fangs. He was usually the first person you noticed, considering he towered over everyone, when you walked into parties. He’d turn his head ever so slightly and you could see it, the Serpent ‘S’ peeking out from his jacket collar. But another slight turn and it was gone, hidden underneath the leather. 

“Hey, I do have better things to do than tutor you all day long.” Sweet Pea teased, making your eyes snap back up to his. 

“Oh sorry.” you say as your cheeks flush. 

“I know I’m a handsome devil, but school is more important.” Sweet Pea smiled wickedly and you roll your eyes. 

“You _wish_ I was distracted by your looks.”

“I am pretty distracting.”

“Shut up and teach me.” You say, lightly knocking his shoulder. Sweet Pea chuckled and went back to explaining how permeability worked.

*

“Hey, Sweets!” You call down the hallway, trying to get the towering boy’s attention, earning a few strange stares as you barrel past them all, a crumpled paper in your tight grasp. 

The boy in question turns around, eyebrows furrowed in confusion when he sees you running full speed toward him. Shifting his bag, Sweet Pea reaches his arms out to catch you, hands gripping your shoulders so you don’t go sliding past. 

“Whoa, where’s the fire?” He says, smiling as you take deep breaths, free hand over your chest. 

“I, uh, I, wanted to-” You pause, trying to slow down your heart rate and get your breathing back on track. Giving up, you thrust the paper at him, motioning for him to look at it. 

Eyebrows still furrowed, he took the paper, smoothing it out. Sweet Pea scanned the paper and his eyes brightened, lips spreading into a wider smile, as he took in the words.

“An 84?”

You grinned back at him, nodding vigorously. “I passed!” 

“You passed!” Sweet Pea circled his arms around your waist, picking you up with ease and spinning around. You laughed, holding tight onto his shoulders. 

Putting you down, he glanced back at the Physiology test, still grinning widely. “Wow. We have to celebrate.”

“Of course! Just no milkshakes at Pop’s.” You say, following Sweet Pea as he walked down the hallway, towards the double doors leading outside, where his motorcycle was parked. “I love Pop Tate, but honestly, celebratory milkshakes are just too cliche and you know how I feel about clicheness.”

Sweet Pea nodded, pushing the door open and holding it for you to walk through. “I really do.”

*

_You and Sweet Pea had gotten closer over the past few weeks, as anyone would, spending late nights working on practice tests, essays, and projects together. Toni and Fangs would join sometimes too and you realized that the serpents were nothing like their reputation, though they were intimidating._

_But it shocked you to learn how happy they were about the shutdown of Southside High and the opportunity to go to a good school, no matter if it was on the Northside._

_That helped you understand Sweet Pea’s love for tutoring and learning in general. He was always reading in his alone time, glasses perched on top of his nose as he concentrated (he threatened to stop tutoring you if you ever told anyone he wore glasses, but the first thing you did was rush to tell Toni and Fangs)._

_Everyday, he’d come with a new completely random piece of trivia._

_“Y/N, did you know Abraham Lincoln created the Secret Service?”_

_“No, Y/N, autophobia isn’t a fear of cars. It’s the fear of being alone.”_

_“You know what’s weird? That hamlet means a British village without a church. Nothing is the same anymore.”_

_And on and on it’d go. You’d grown to love it, looking forward to hearing the piece of trivia for the day. But mostly, you just liked spending time with Sweet Pea. As intimidating as he was, he was a softy at heart. Though he didn’t hide it on purpose, most people just saw “Serpent” and stayed away. Their loss._

_Without even realizing it, he’d become your confidant, the person you told all your frustrations and problems too. Slowly, but surely, Sweet Pea was becoming your best friend._  

*

“How about drinks, at the Whyte Worm?” Sweet Pea suggested.

“Now that, I like.” You say smiling. You had arrived at Sweet Pea’s motorcycle, nestled between the bikes of Jughead Jones and Fangs. Sweet Pea chuckled, looking back down to the paper he still held. He hesitated before giving it back to you, his lips curled into a nervous smile. 

“So, still think you’re heading back to California after graduation hits?” He asks, eyes pointing anywhere but you. Laughing, you step closer to him, hands brushing up against each other. 

“I dunno.” His eyes finally dart to you, wide with hope. Before you lose the courage, you reach and take his hand in yours. They were slightly clammy, but you didn’t care, because the way his eyes light up, mouth falling slightly open at the sudden action made it worth it.

“There might be a few reasons I’d want to stick around. People who’ve made this town slightly less unbearable.”

“Like who?”

“Well, Fangs for starters, he always gives me gum whenever he sees me.”

Sweet Pea laughed, tugging on your arm and pulling you even closer. You could feel the warmth radiating off him and the slight smell of smoke filled your senses. “And?”

“Toni, definitely. She lets me borrow her boots all the time.” 

Sweet Pea chuckled and finally pulled you completely against his chest, once again wrapping his arms around your waist. “Is that it?”

You pretended to think, moving your arms to rest against the front of his shirt, tapping an index fingers on one of the blue buttons. “Well, there may be one more.”

“And that would be?” Sweet Pea stared down at you, a smile on his lips, but uncertainty swimming in his eyes. You chuckled slightly. Only Sweet Pea would still be unsure, even as you were pressed up against his chest. 

“You.”


	2. Smells Like Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 100% based on my text post about Sweet Pea showering his girlfriend with sweet pea scented things. And seriously, imagine Sweet Pea and Fangs in full Serpents gear, in Bath and Body works scouring the displays, looking for as many sweet pea items as they can. It’s too cute.

You reeked of it. Your room reeked of it. Even your car couldn’t escape smelling like it. It wasn’t like sweet pea was exactly a bad scent. It was actually pretty enjoyable. In small doses. 

But when your boyfriend gives you perfumes, lotions, body washes, even chap-sticks that all smell of sweet pea, you get pretty tired of it. 

At first you thought it was funny and cute, considering his name was Sweet Pea. It was meant to be ironic and Sweet Pea loved a good pun. 

*

_“Oh my gosh, you didn’t!” You say when you open the small gift bag Sweet Pea handed you. Pulling out the lotion bottle, labeled “Sweet Pea”, you smile wide and laugh. “This is so great!”_

_“What is it?” Fangs peeks over your shoulder, laughing as he reads the bottle. “Wow, marking your girlfriend, Sweets?”_

_“Shut up, Fogarty.” Sweet Pea says._

_“I think it’s adorable.” Toni says, nudging at your shoulder. You smiled at her and nod. It really was._

_You lean over, giving Sweet Pea a quick peck. “Thanks, Babe, I love it.”_

_Sweet Pea smiled knowingly, “I knew you would.”_

*

You wore that lotion almost everyday, smiling every time you put it on as you thought of your boyfriend. It really was cute. 

Then he got you the same scented perfume. You laughed again, gushing at how cute and funny it was. You quite literally smelled of Sweet Pea and thought it was hilarious to see people’s confused faces when they’d asked you what perfume you were wearing.

“It’s Sweet Pea.” You’d say, wrapping an arm around Sweet Pea’s waist, pulling him closer to you as he draped his arm over your shoulders. You both laughed as they would glance at your towering boyfriend, not understanding the joke. 

Then it was a body wash. You were starting to think that Sweet Pea had some weird fetish about the scent of sweet pea. But you brushed it off, knowing how much Sweet Pea loved a good pun. You didn’t want to ruin his fun. And at least sweet pea smelled good. 

After a few months, you knew something was up. Piled on your bathroom sink and side dresser were mounds of sweet pea scented items. The perfumes, lotions, room sprays, shimmer body mists, soaps (regular and foaming), lip balms, car air fresheners, hand sanitizers, and even deodorants.

You’d had enough of the sickeningly sweet flower scent.

“I don’t know where he even finds all this stuff, Toni.” You were telling your best friend as you both walked down the halls of Riverdale High one morning. “Is there a Sweet Pea scent store I don’t know about?”

Toni laughed. “It’s called Bath and Body Works, Y/N.”

“That store will be the death of me.” You groan, raking a hand through your hair, a whiff of the sweet smell making it’s way to your nose. You groan again, quickly putting your hand down. “I can see the headlines now, ‘Girl who reeks of sweet pea, dies of asphyxiation. Good riddance.’”

“Why don’t you just stop wearing it?”

“I tried! He got all sad and asked if I didn’t like the gifts. I couldn’t do that to him.” You say as you near your class.

“But you love him, you should be able-”

You clamp a hand over Toni’s mouth, looking around to make sure Sweet Pea, or even Fangs, is no where in sight. “Shhhh! He doesn’t know that yet and I’d really prefer it if he didn’t find out.”

Toni gives you a blank stare and you remove your hand, giving her a sheepish smile. “I can’t believe you haven’t told him.”

“You weren’t supposed to find out either. You practically forced it out of me.”

Toni just smiled, leaving to go to her class next door. “Oh and Y/N? Take a shower. You really do reek of the stuff.”

You groan again, stomping into your classroom, wondering if Sweet Pea would ever stop. 

*

A few weeks later, Sweet Pea gave you another sweet pea scented gift, this time it was teddy bear, holding a sweet pea candle. You tried looking happy, you really did. But failed miserably. 

“Y/N, what’s wrong? You don’t like it?” Sweet Pea asks, his lips dropping into a frown. 

“No, no, that’s not it, I love it.” You say, unconvincingly. Sweet Pea stares, seeing through the lie. 

“No, you don’t.”

“Sweet Pea, it’s not that I don’t love it, it’s just,” You sigh, defeated. You would have to tell him. And hopefully not break his heart in the process. “This is like the hundredth sweet pea scent gift you’ve given me. I’ve gotten a little tired of it.”

“But you said you loved it.”

You blink. “Loved what?”

“Sweet Pea.”

“When did I say that?”

“A few months ago, I heard you talking to Toni and you said that you loved sweet pea-”

“Oh my god!” You cry, interrupting Sweet Pea. Without thinking, you continue, “I was talking about you! I said I loved you!” Your eyes widened at what you just said and you cover your mouth with your hands. 

Sweet Pea’s mouth falls open, eyes as wide as yours. Then he laughs, lips curling up into a grin. You furrow your eyebrows, hands still over your mouth, unsure why your boyfriend found it funny that you loved him.

“I know.”

“ _You what_?” You say into your hands. Sweet Pea chuckles and you put your hands down and say again, “You what?”

“I know you love me. I just wanted you to actually say it.”

Your mouth drops open. “Are you joking? I was a walking, breathing advertisement for sweet pea shit because you wanted me to admit my feelings?”

Sweet Pea nodded, a mischievous smile on his face.

“You stupid jerk!” You say, half lying, moving to drum your fists on his chest. Sweet Pea laughed harder, your weak punches barely registering. He gripped your wrists and pulled you into his chest, enveloping you in his grasp.

“It’s okay, Y/N.” You look up at him, still annoyed. He leans down, his lips ghosting over yours. “I love you too.”


	3. Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paradise ain’t far / When you got someone who lights your dark  
> You make me feel like heaven all the time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Request from anon: Omg great so can you do an SP imagine based on Heaven by Justine Skye? I’ve been obsessed w that song lately and sweet pea comes to mind every time it plays for some reason lol so yea thanks xx

When you first moved to town, Sweet Pea didn’t know how important you’d be to him. He never expected to be so drawn to someone, to always want to be around them, to want to give them the world. But from the moment you proved him wrong, kicking his ass in a game of pool, he knew you were something special. 

But he would never do anything about it. Not with his past, filled with violence and a gang he was eternally loyal to. So you took matters in your own hands, showing him you didn’t care about his past or his present, all you wanted was him and anything that came with him. 

Soon he was your everything and you were his. Sweet Pea didn’t know where he ended and you began.

But that lingering feeling, that the life he led would only end up hurting the one person he loved, invaded his every thought. Nothing you’d say could ease his insecurity. It resulted in so many fights and almost break ups, you couldn’t even keep track of how many times you and Sweet Pea had yelled at each other. 

Him screaming that you deserved better and you screaming back that staying was your decision to make. He couldn’t force you to leave. 

But everyone around you seemed to think differently.

_You’ll never be good enough for her._

Sweet Pea’s jaw tightens, hands clenched into tight fists. His breathing was ragged and he tries to calm down, but it only works when he was around you. 

_Soon she’s going to realize that staying with you will only get her killed._

Sweet Pea growls deep in his throat before swinging his hand out, hearing the  _crack!_  as it connected with the fragile wooden door, his fist embedded in the splintering wood.

_You will fail her. You will lose her. And she’ll be better for it._

He yanks his hand out, ignoring the cuts and blood, and swings again. Sweet Pea punched the wall over and over again, a dull ache settling in his bones, until he felt a taut grip on his forearm stop him. 

He turns, locks of raven hair falling into his eyes, to see Fangs standing behind him, eyes wide with fear and concern.

“Get the hell out, Fogarty.” Sweet Pea snaps, shifting back to the mauled door and maneuvering his arm out of Fangs’ grasp. 

“What happened? I can’t imagine you got this angry because your toilet wouldn’t flush again.” Fangs says, glancing at the multiple holes Sweet Pea had punched into his bathroom door. 

“I mean it, Fangs.” Sweet Pea says through his teeth.

Fangs opens his mouth to protest, wanting to get to the root of the problem, when there was a sudden rapid knocking on the door. Before Sweet Pea could stop him, Fangs pulls open the door to see you standing there. 

“Oh, hey, Fangs.” You say hesitantly, noticing the strange look on his face. You peek in to see Sweet Pea’s back turned toward the door, shoulders hunched forward as he sits on his bed. “What happened?”

Fangs purses his lips. “I think you need to talk to him.” Fangs simply says before pulling you in and stepping behind you before shutting the door, leaving you alone with Sweet Pea. 

“Sweets? What’s wrong?” You say softly. Sweet Pea mumbles something into his hands, but he’s too far and too buried into his arms for you to hear him. You walk closer, until you can reach out and touch him, but you don’t. Not yet. It could close him off and you want to find out what’s going on. “What?”

“I can’t do this.” He says louder. Your heart skips a beat and your breath turns to ice in your lungs. Suddenly Sweet Pea stands up, whirling around to face you. Unshed tears glisten in his eyes and you want desperately to comfort him, but not when it sounds like he’s going to end things. 

Sweet Pea inhales deeply through his nose. “I need to tell you something.”

“Please don’t-”

“Y/N, just let me talk, please.” Sweet Pea grips your upper arms. You bite at your lip and let him talk. “You are the best thing to ever happen to me. My life was dark and bleak until I met you and you brought all this light into my life. I didn’t think I deserved someone like you, especially after your father pretty much told me that I’d just end up ruining you.”

Tears run down your face and you open your mouth to protest, to say that you didn’t care what your father thought, that he was the only true family in your life, to make him understand just how much he meant to you, but Sweet Pea keeps going.

“But I can’t let go of how I feel when I’m with you. And goddamn this is gonna be cheesy, but fuck it. You make me feel like heaven. All the time. I know I’m not a saint, that my life can be so screwed up. But I love you. And I am not letting go of you.”

It wasn’t the first time Sweet Pea had told you that he loved you. But it still hit you hard, like you’ve never heard it before. And maybe you haven’t. Sweet Pea has never opened his heart this much to you, has never been this vulnerable with anyone before. 

“I’m not a saint, but you make me want to change. I want to be a better man for you.”

“Okay, stop.” You finally say. Sweet Pea drops his hands immediately from you and steps away. You roll your eyes, reach toward him and pull him to you again. “You need to stop second guessing yourself. You are the better man. I don’t care what anyone else thinks. I want to be with you, I chose to be with you. I love  _you_.”

You barely got the last word out before Sweet Pea bent his head and crushed his lips to yours. Your arms immediately moved around his shoulders, pulling yourself up to better move your mouth against his. Out of breath, you both pull away, foreheads resting against each other, chests heaving up and down.

“God, I love you. You saved me, Y/N.” Sweet Pea whispers, rubbing his nose against yours. 

“I love you too, Pea.” You smile, head fuzzy with his passionate kiss. You lift your head slightly, your smile turning into a smirk. “So, can I expect this vulnerable Sweet Pea more often?”

Sweet Pea narrows his eyes, confused at what you were saying. 

“‘ _You make me feel like heaven_ ’?” You repeat the words that made your heart skip a beat back to him. He groans, his grip on your waist tightening.

“Nope, that was a one time deal, Angel.” He says, winking as you laugh at the new pet name. You stare into his eyes, your fingers shifting to run through his silky hair. 

“Aw, I hope not.” You say, leaning in until your lips just barely ghost over his as he sucks in a deep breath. “Because you make me feel like heaven, too.”


	4. Coming Back Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Request from @diy-daisy-is-fandom-smut-shots: …Can I get some Sweet Pea fluff? Just give me something you haven’t done before. Maybe some angst, but tons of fluff?

“So, Sweets, you nervous?” Fangs teased, bumping Sweet Pea lightly with his elbow. Sweet Pea bit at lip, his eyes never leaving the empty road in front of him. 

“Nervous? Why would I be nervous?” Sweet Pea said quickly, groaning internally at how totally nervous he sounded. Fangs laughed, diverting his attention back to the road, his gaze casual, different from Sweet Pea’s razor focused gaze. 

The two Serpents were waiting at the bus station, the sun beating down on their shoulders, heating up the leather of their jackets, for Y/N to come back. She had gone away for college a few months back, but it felt like forever to Sweet Pea. Though he would never admit how much he had missed her. 

Sweet Pea wasn’t the type to conceal his feelings just for the sake of being “tough”. He was usually very upfront about what he felt, it was what many people admired about him. But this was different. He had grown up with Y/N, protecting her from the shit that came with being part of the Southside Serpents. 

He didn’t want to mess that up. Especially since she was off to college, somewhere he wasn’t likely to follow. 

 

“Well, you guys are a site for sore eyes.” Y/N said, pausing at the end of the bus steps. Both boys were so lost in their thoughts, they hadn’t even heard the bus squeal to a stop. 

“Y/N!” Fangs cried, picking her up and spinning her around. Y/N threw her head back and laughed, hair whipping around her as Fangs twisted faster. Sweet Pea’s lip curled into a small smile, it hitting him just how much he had missed her. 

“I missed ya, Fangs.” She said when Fangs finally put her down, ruffling his hair. Fangs groaned, jerking his head away from Y/N’s hand. 

“I did not miss that.” He said. Y/N smirked, before finally turning to Sweet Pea.

“Hiya, Sweets.”

“Hi, Y/N.”

Y/N paused, just staring at Sweet Pea, also realizing how much she missed this tall boy, before her mouth opened into a wide grin and she launched herself into his open arms. 

Sweet Pea wrapped his arms tightly around her torso as she buried her head into his shoulder, mumbling, “I really missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” Sweet Pea smiled, loving having Y/N in his arms. Y/N pulled away slightly, arms wrapped loosely around his shoulders.

“How’s your mom, Sweets?” She asked. Sweet Pea’s smile faltered for a split second, before he recovered it, but this time it wasn’t as bright. Hopefully she hadn’t noticed. 

“She’s doing great. Better than before.” Sweet Pea said, ignoring Fangs’ pointed look.

“That’s good to hear. I can’t wait to see her.” Y/N said. Sweet Pea swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, gently stepping away from Y/N.

“You know she always wants to see you. But she’s actually visiting Stephanie right now.”

Sweet Pea could see Fangs from the corner of his eyes, arms crossed over his chest defiantly and he prayed that Fangs would stay silent. 

“She was well enough to travel all the way to Chicago?” Y/N said, eyes wide. 

“Yeah, it was a surprise.”

“Oh yeah. Big surprise.” Fangs chimed in, his tone more sarcastic than Sweet Pea liked. 

“Come on, let’s go. It’s too damn hot to stay out here any longer.” Sweet Pea said, quickly sidestepping the subject of his mother. Y/N would only be here for a few weeks, a small break between semesters, and then she’d be back at school. And while Sweet Pea didn’t want her to go, it did mean she wouldn’t be around to ask about his mother. 

“Yeah and I’m sure there’s a party and the Whyte Worm waiting for me, huh?” Y/N smirked as she picked up her duffel bag and winked at the boys.

Fangs laughed and threw an arm around her shoulder and guided her to where they had parked their bikes. “Serpents love any excuse to party.”

*

“Okay, so Sweet Pea and me, against Y/N and Toni.” Fangs was saying, moving to capture all the pool balls with the rack. Toni, who was sitting on a stool at the bar, whipped her head up when her name was said. 

“No, no, I never agreed to that.”

“Oh come on, Toni!” Y/N begged, a cue stick in each hand, one extended toward the purple haired girl. Toni looked at Y/N’s pleading face and Sweet Pea could see her giving in. After a beat, Toni rolled her eyes and sighed, reaching over to grab the cue stick. 

“Fine. If you haven’t gotten any better-”

“I was never that bad!” Y/N said, eyes wide in mock hurt. All three serpents turn to give her a disbelieving look and she can’t help but smirk. “Okay, maybe I was. College prepares you for this kind of thing though!”

“Let’s just play.” Toni said, hopping off her stool. 

Twenty minutes later and the girls were winning, with two more balls to put in the socket before they could shoot at the black ball. The boys had clearly underestimated how much Y/N had been practicing while she was away. 

Sweet Pea decided to step it up and play a little dirty. 

Y/N was crouched over the table, lining up the cue stick, lip pulled between teeth and one eye closed. Sweet Pea casually leaned on the table next to her, arms crossed over his chest and cue stick tucked under his legs. Y/N felt unnerved, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up, and she whipped her head to stare at Sweet Pea. 

“What?” She demanded.

Sweet Pea shrugged. “Nothing. Just don’t miss.”

Y/N rolled her eyes, focusing back on the white ball. “I haven’t missed one.”

“Yet.” Sweet Pea grabbed his cue stick, bending down so his mouth was right at her ear. Y/N swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as Sweet Pea got closer, his breath tickling her skin. “You haven’t missed  _yet_.”

“Okay, that is not fair!” Y/N cried, standing up to face Sweet Pea head on, who simply smirked. “That’s pretty much cheating.”

“What?” Sweet Pea feigned innocence. Y/N crossed her arms over her chest, fire sparkling in her eyes. 

Toni and Fangs stood off to the side, both eyeing the other two. “You think this time they’ll finally bang?”

“Fangs.” Toni said, elbowing him in the chest. 

“Ow!” Fangs groaned and rubbed at the spot. “It’s a valid question!”

“You know Sweets. He’s doing the moral thing and doesn’t want to ruin their friendship.” Toni said, rolling her eyes as she stared at Sweet Pea, who was easily the most infatuated boy she’d ever seen. Y/N was always the girl he’d protect, who could put him in his place, who was there for him when his mother first got sick. 

They were perfect together. But Toni could see why Sweet Pea didn’t want to ruin that. 

“He didn’t tell her about Lara.”

“What? Why the hell not? Y/N loves that woman. She deserves to know.”

“Maybe. Not our place to tell her though.”

“You totally moved it!” Y/N yelled, grabbing the attention of Toni and Fangs. Her cue stick had been abandoned on the pool table, her hands on her hips. “That is most definitely cheating!”

“I did not move it! You’re just a sore loser!”

“Okay, I think we’re done with this game.” Fangs intervened, using his cue stick to move around the remaining balls, knocking them out of place. “Let’s just drink.”

“That’s a great idea.” Y/N said, still staring hard at Sweet Pea, who just laughed and pulled her to the bar. 

“To Y/N!” Sweet Pea said when everyone had gotten their glasses, holding it high. 

“Yeah, I can’t reach that, but cheers!” Toni said, lifting the glass to her lips and swallowing it in on gulp. The other three laughed and followed suit. After a few more shots, not for Sweet Pea, he didn’t like drinking too much, Y/N became much friendlier, leaning and falling against Sweet Pea, not that he minded. 

“Pea, dance with me!” She said, pulling on his arm. Sweet Pea groaned while Fangs and Toni laughed and tried pushing him to go. 

“No way. I am not drunk enough for that.”

“You’re never drunk enough!” Y/N pouted and pulled harder on his arm. “This is my first day back, Pea. And all I wanna do is dance. With you.”

Sweet Pea closed his eyes and swallowed. When he opened them, Y/N stared right back at him, lips pulled down and he just couldn’t resist. “Fine.” Toni and Fangs cheered, lifting their glasses, as Sweet Pea left himself get pulled onto the dance floor, which was already filled with other serpents and their dates. 

The song was upbeat, the bass pounding in Sweet Pea’s ears, but Y/N pulled him close, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, and swayed slowly side to side. 

“Uh, this isn’t really a slow dancing type of song.” Sweet Pea said, glancing around at all the couples dancing much more energetically.

“I don’t care.” Y/N said and rested her head against Sweet Pea’s chest. Sweet Pea smiled softly, tightened his grasp around Y/N’s waist and continued to sway the two together. After a few dance songs, the rhythm finally slowed down, as did the other couples on the dance floor, mimicking Sweet Pea and Y/N position.

“Don’t tell me you want to jump around to this song?” Sweet Pea teased. He felt Y/N smile against his chest, but she didn’t respond.

“Why don’t you come to school with me?” She said suddenly, lifting her head up to stare up at Sweet Pea, who furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you finally going to college. I know how smart you are and how much you wanted to-”

“Y/N, drop it.” Sweet Pea said gently, but firmly. 

“No, I won’t.” Y/N said, her arms slightly falling from his shoulders. “I understand why you couldn’t, with your mom getting sick, but-”

“Y/N, I’m serious.” Sweet Pea said, jaw tight. But she kept going.

“She’s not sick anymore, you said yourself that she was well enough to visit your sister. You can apply again and come with me-” Y/N stopped short as Sweet Pea let go of her, roughly pushing away her arms, and walked away from her. She only stood there, alone and stunned in the middle of the dance floor, but she stomped out the door after him. 

The sun had set, the only source of light coming from the lonely street light and neon  _Whyte Worm_  signs. A cold wind bit at her bare arms, but Y/N barely registered it, whipping her head around to see where Sweet Pea had run off to. She noticed a cloud of smoke coming from around the corner and walked over to find Sweet Pea leaning against the wall, a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth.

A lock of black hair dangled in front of his face, which he usually hated, but this time left alone. Y/N loved to run her fingers through his hair, smoothing everything down, but this time her blood boiled as she watched him take a long drag from the cigarette and slowly let the smoke leave his lips. 

“Are you kidding me?” Y/N cried, walking up to him and snatching the cigarette from between his lips. She threw it to the ground and stomped angrily onto it with her boot. “Your mom gets through lung cancer and you’re just out here purposely giving it to yourself?”

Sweet Pea snorted bitterly, stuffing his hands into his pockets, and mumbled, “She didn’t get through it.”

“What?”

“She got worse okay!” Sweet Pea yelled, pushing off the wall to get closer and breathing hard through his nose. “She didn’t get better. She’s not visiting Steph. She got worse. She’s in the hospital, on hospice.”

“Hospice?” Y/N asked softly, still shocked from the information. 

“It’s what people go on when they’re about to die.” Sweet Pea spat before pushing past Y/N, knocking her shoulder with his arm. He only took a few steps before Y/N grabbed his arm and pulled him back roughly. 

“And you didn’t think to tell me this?”

“She’s not your mom.”

Y/N paused, air leaving her lungs like she had been punched. “That is not fair and you know it. She practically raised me. And you lied to me.”

Sweet Pea’s jaw tightened and he bounced on his heels, something he did whenever he was trying not to cry. 

“Sweets,”

“I can’t lose her. I can’t lose her like I lost you okay?” He said, shaking his harshly. Y/N’s eyes widened and she reached up to grab Sweet Pea’s face, calming his rough movements and making him look at her. 

“Lost me? What are you talking about?”

“You ran off to college.” He said simply, eyes pointed right above her head, not able to look her in the eye. 

“You could have come with me.” Y/N whispered. Finally Sweet Pea looked at her, eyes glistening with tears. 

“No I couldn’t.”

“You can’t stay here, looking after your mom forever.”

Sweet Pea turned his head out of her grasp and Y/N let her arms fall limply to her side. “Yes I can.”

Y/N sighed, realizing she would never convince him otherwise. She probably shouldn’t, knowing that Sweet Pea would never forgive himself if he left his mother to die on her own. It was selfish to want him to come with her to college, have him all to herself. 

“Would you ever come? To college?” Y/N whispered, her throat to wrapped in emotion to speak any louder. There was a pause, Sweet Pea biting at his lip, before she added, “With me?”

Sweet Pea groaned, eyes squeezed shut, hands in tight fists, before sucking in a deep breath. “Goddammit.” The word barely left his mouth when he reached over to grab Y/N’s face, just as she had done moments earlier, and crushed his lips to hers. 

Instinctively, Y/N’s arms gripped at the lapels of Sweet Pea’s serpent jacket, pulling herself flush against him and moving her lips against his. Suddenly, Y/N pushed him away, gasping for air.

“Whoa.” She said, still sucking in air. “Where did that come from?”

Sweet Pea chuckled, using his thumb to wipe at the corner of his mouth, mostly for show, there was nothing there. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”

“Why didn’t you?”

He shrugged. “It would have changed everything.”

“Damn right it would have!” Y/N yelled, but Sweet Pea just stared at her, not getting it. “I might have stayed here.”

Sweet Pea froze. “What?”

Y/N swallowed and cleared her throat, trying to find the words to say.  “I was fine going to community college here. But I couldn’t be around you anymore. Not all the time like we usually were.” Sweet Pea blinked, a wounded look on his face. “I was seriously in love with you, Pea. I didn’t say anything, since I was pretty sure you didn’t feel the same way, and I couldn’t deal with that any more. So I applied to a University instead. Away from here. Away from you.”

There was a pause, where Y/N stood still, waiting for a response, and Sweet Pea stood still, processing everything he’d just heard. Finally, he said, “Okay.”

Y/N blinked and pursed her lips. “Okay?”

“Okay.” Sweet Pea said.

“This isn’t the Fault in Our Stars, what do you mean ‘Okay’?” Y/N snapped. 

“What am I supposed to say? Tell you I love you back and then watch you leave again, while I stay here without you?” Sweet Pea said. He wasn’t angry or frustrated. Just… defeated.

“Yes, you are. If it’s the truth.”

“Of course it’s the damn truth, Y/N!” Sweet Pea said, throwing his hands up before running his hands through his hair, finally pushing back the stray lock of raven hair. He turned to her and his features softened and Y/N wondered if he had always looked at her like that and how she could have missed it. “If I’m being cliche, I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you. If I’m being honest, I’ve loved you since you punched Reggie Mantle for grabbing Toni’s ass.”

Y/N snorted, quickly covering her mouth at the sound. “That was a long time ago.” Sweet Pea nodded. “You should have told me.”

“You should have told me.” Sweet Pea countered and Y/N rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the smile that broke out. 

“Fair enough.” Y/N took a step closer. Sweet Pea noticed and did the same.

“So what do we do?” He asked when they were barely an inch a part. Y/N slid her arms around Sweet Pea, her hands slipping into his back pockets, while he stared at her wide eyed.

“Well first, we,” Y/N snatched the pack of cigarettes from his left pocket, waving it in front of his face, “Get rid of these.” and threw the far behind him. Sweet Pea just smirked and raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. 

“Then you take me to see your mother. I miss her and need to see her.” Y/N’s tone fell serious at the end, letting out a relieved sigh when Sweet Pea nodded hesitantly. “And then after making out endlessly for the few weeks that I’m here, I’ll go back to school, knowing that Sweet Pea loves me. And you’ll be here, watching after you mom and knowing that I love you too.”

“Long distances don’t usually work out.” Sweet Pea said, ever the pessimist. Though he’d just say he was being logical. And maybe he was. But Y/N didn’t care. She wanted to be with him. 

“It will for us.” Y/N insisted, grabbing at his collar again.

“How do you know?” Sweet Pea asked, but he had already given in, arms wrapped tightly around her waist, like they were made to stay there forever. He was already leaning in, showing her that he was now convinced, not that he needed much convincing to begin with. 

“Because you are my home.” Y/N said, lifting herself on her tip toes to brush her lips against his. “And like Hannah Montana said. You always find your way back home.”

Sweet Pea threw his head back in laughter, his entire body vibrating with it. “God this is why I love you.” He said and kissed her again. 

“I love you too.” Y/N said against his lips. 

“Dear God, finally!” Fangs shouted from behind, causing them to jolt a part, wheeling around to stare at what looked to be the entirety of the serpents. Fangs and Toni were in front of the crowd, shot glasses in hand and grinning widely. 

Sweet Pea shook his head and smiled, turning back to crush his lips to Y/N’s again, while the Serpents hooted and hollered. Y/N smiled, pushing herself up to get even closer, squealing as Sweet Pea picked her up off her feet. The Serpents cheered louder. 

Yeah. This was _home_.


End file.
